More time sought for review of Pa. building code

    Lawmakers are working to give a statewide panel more time to consider updates to Pennsylvania’s building code.It’s been at the center of a controversy that began, in part, when a 2011 law made it more difficult to approve changes.

    Industry groups disagree on how to fix the situation, but they agree the panel needs more time to review the code.

    Joe Mingioni, with the Pennsylvania Builders Association, was on the panel when it rejected all suggested code updates last year. He said it needed more than one year to consider each code update.

    “We did have a chance to look at them individually, but I think the sentiment was growing that this is all happening too fast and we need to stop this – we need to slow this down,” he said. “We did not have enough time to review those thousand code changes and it was daunting at that point.”

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    A Senate proposal would give the panel two years to review the building code.

    Another more contentious part of the plan would reverse the law that made it harder to update codes.Builders suggest they are costly and unnecessary, while industry groups say they keep people safe and ensure long-term cost-savings for residents.

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